Oozi: Earth Adventure PC First Impressions

The two-man team from Awesome Games Studio has released their new platformer, Oozi: Earth Adventure. The short of it is that Oozi is, in fact, awesome. Yes, there will be those who, without even playing, will dismiss Oozi as just another platformer in an already crowded market. However, give the game a bit of time and Awesome Games Studios will show you exactly how to stand out in that crowded market. Upon launching the game, you will be immediately blown away by how much effort and craftsmanship went into the art style. Running Oozi at 1920×1080 was a joy to behold. Eye candy everywhere you looked. The character models and backgrounds are meticulously hand-drawn. One small detail which was not visible until browsing screen shots to include in this review was how Oozi would look directly at the player during certain jumps. With that cheesy wide grin Oozi jumps around as if to say, “I am awesome and you know it.”

The platforming itself is relatively tight using the Xbox 360 controller. There were a few instances where a double jump did not register properly, but those were few and far between. For the hardcore vets of titles like Super Meat Boy and Dustforce, Oozi may not be something of interest as it comes off as more of a relaxed stroll in park a la Marvin’s Mittens. Oozi is your standard fair of basic platforming like you would find going all the way back to Super Mario Bros. While this may seem boring at first glance to some, Oozi is straight up fun to play. The deal is, not every game needs to break the mold or try something radically different. Oozi does not need to be clever nor does it try to be something it is not.

You can find many games on Steam which do not come close to the polish Oozi offers. For the $9.99 asking price on Desura, you will be treated to some beautifully mastered art work from four different worlds along with many enemies. If you are still on the fence, there is a demo available from the official site. In addition, help Oozi: Earth Adventure get on Steam by voting on their Greenlight page. Oozi: Earth Adventure does not drastically change the platformer genre, but it is a highly polished and entertaining ride through an unknown land. TPG will publish a full review in the coming weeks.